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Odinson

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Everything posted by Odinson

  1. Disgraceful, but that's $ talking. Can't upset the advertisers with the truth. On a related note, a local Belgian vegan organisation, BE Vegan, recently launched an awareness campaign around the Belgian dairy industry called 'Melk is dodelijk'. The focus of the campaign was to highlight the fact that over 150 000 male calves are killed in Belgium every year, due to being a 'waste product' of the dairy industry. The campaign was done by placing signage on the sides of the trams in Ghent and Antwerp. Predictably, the dairy org had a moerse hissy fit and requested the campaign to be stopped. The tram company, De Lijn, then suspended their approval of the campaign. BE Vegan proceeded to defend the merits of their campaign at the 'Jury voor Ethische Praktijken inzake reclame', which found that the campaign was factually correct in its position, not misleading, nor stigmatizing.
  2. Two things I love about running is 1) the flexibility - you just need some shoes and 2) the clear milestones you can use to track progress - it's nice to see all your different PR's and how you improve over time.
  3. Sold my bike at the beginning of this year. For me, the bike just became to much of a faff. Spending stupid money on replacing parts and it ultimately just became a black hole for my free time. It takes so much time to prep all your gear, the bike, get dressed, drive to the trails, unload, ride, repack, drive home, unpack, wash, etc. etc. Just eats up those precious hours over the weekend. Now I run and can get a better exercise in 2hrs than I can during a day long ride, with no fuss. Shoes, shorts, shirt, water and out the door. I still want to get a bike in 2020, but considering that winter is approaching, I can't be arsed about it now.
  4. Fishing is an absolute scourge. It 'takes' in so many ways.
  5. https://www.facebook.com/seashepherdglobal/posts/10157712057998259
  6. This July, we were all reminded about the same messages we’ve already heard: invest in reusable water bottles and coffee mugs, swap out plastic shopping bags for a cloth “bag for life”, and refuse single-use plastics, especially straws. The list goes on. Of course, all of these efforts are worthwhile to incorporate into your daily lives. Plastic waste is clearly one of the most pressing – and visible – issues affecting our oceans and marine wildlife. Humans produce so much plastic each year that it weighs as much as the entire human race combined. And, despite our best efforts to “refuse, reduce, reuse, and recycle,” 91% of plastic waste never gets recycled. Instead of decomposing or biodegrading as many claim, plastics in the ocean in fact break up into smaller and smaller pieces, eventually becoming microplastics so small the human eye can no longer see. There is no "away" with plastic; every piece of plastic ever produced is still on the planet today. More than 90% of seabirds have plastic in their guts, and researchers are predicting the ocean will contain more plastic than fish in weight by 2050 unless we act now. But despite what most people think, common consumer plastics like cotton ear buds, throwaway cutlery, and shampoo bottles aren’t actually the biggest culprits. The single biggest single source of plastic choking out the life in our oceans is made up of purposefully or accidentally lost, discarded, or abandoned fishing nets, ropes, FADs (fish aggregating devices), long lines, and plastic fishing crates and baskets. Approximately 46% of the 79 thousand tons of ocean plastic in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is made up of fishing nets, some as large as football fields, according to the study published in March 2018 in Scientific Reports, which shocked the researchers themselves who expected the percentage to be closer to 20%. Fishing nets lost, abandoned or discarded at sea – also known as “ghost nets” – can continue killing indiscriminately for decades and decades, entangling or suffocating countless fish, sharks, whales, dolphins, sea turtles, seals and marine birds every year. An estimated 30% percent of the decline in some fish populations is a result of discarded fishing equipment, while more than 70% of marine animal entanglements involve abandoned plastic fishing nets. A sea lion strangled by fishing gear. Photo by Sea Shepherd. Sea Shepherd crew and volunteers on campaigns around the world are daily witnesses to the devastation caused by this fishing gear. On Operation Icefish in 2014, while Sea Shepherd’s Bob Barker chased down the notorious toothfish poaching vessel Thunder for 110 days until they scuttled their own vessel, the crew of the Sam Simon stayed behind in the freezing Southern Ocean, spending weeks hauling in the 72km-long gillnet abandoned by poachers as they fled. On five consecutive campaigns for Operation Milagro in the Sea of Cortez, our crew retrieved over 180km of ghost nets in addition to the illegal fishing nets responsible for killing the critically endangered vaquita porpoise. In 2015 Sea Shepherd France launched Operation Mare Nostrum to remove ghost nets from the Mediterranean Sea, where they even recovered an abandoned trawling net in a protected marine area just off the coast of France where all fishing is prohibited. Last year Sea Shepherd UK launched Operation Ghostnet, an ongoing campaign using small fast boats and divers to remove hazardous ghost nets and other abandoned fishing gear from coastal areas around England, Scotland, and Wales. Operation Siso, Sea Shepherd’s campaign to confiscate illegal fishing gear found off Italy’s Mediterranean coast, was named for the young sperm whale whose migration past the Aeolian Islands ended when he became entangled in a driftnet and died. In August last year, around 300 endangered sea turtles were discovered dead off Mexico’s southern coast, trapped in a single abandoned fishing net. What Can You Do to Take Action? Your generous donations help Sea Shepherd continue these vital campaigns to remove this deadly fishing gear from our oceans. You can also participate in your local Sea Shepherd chapter beach clean-ups (Important note: never try and retrieve abandoned fishing gear from the water yourself, it can be extremely dangerous for you and even harmful for the wildlife trapped in it; alert your local authorities if you spot one). But wouldn’t it be better to stop this industrial fishing gear from polluting our waters in the first place? We’re working to stop plastic bottles from reaching the waters by finding alternatives and reducing plastic bags by banning them at the supermarket checkout. So how do we stop the flood of abandoned fishing gear in our oceans? Is there really any other way to stop fishing gear from suffocating our seas than by stopping it at the source? Governments can (and should) take all kinds of measures to prevent fishing gear from further polluting the oceans, and Sea Shepherd will continue to hunt down and help stop illegal fishing operations while pulling up illegal fishing gear wherever we encounter it. But each and every consumer has the power to make a difference. The UK’s Guardian newspaper recently noted the hypocrisy in media condemnation of single-use plastic while “the most important factor… we talk about least.” Is this silence due to mainstream media not wanting to upset the economic interests of the commercial fishing industry, or because by addressing the issue it means consumers will connect the dots…back to themselves? Is there really a better way of cutting down the demand for fish – and the massive industry it supports – than by reducing or completing cutting fish from our diets? It might be hard to discuss, it might feel like you’re swimming upstream, but it may be the best way for each individual to make the most impact in addition to avoiding single-use plastics. If we really care about the problem of plastic in the oceans, we need to address the issue of fishing gear. And until we come up with better options, that means dropping fish from the menu. https://www.seashepherdglobal.org/latest-news/marine-debris-plastic-fishing-gear/?fbclid=IwAR1hQmckrmaKLd_MB-cuNpzIVwjOk5M3UIQR3ml7cVeygZWofdHuxQoe16A
  7. There's no brace on the left hand side, so not an issue. But it does necessitate getting the bottle with your left hand.
  8. Been eye balling this one too. Also very nice in alloy. Seems to be a true all-rounder.
  9. 6ME has never, to my memory, engaged in good faith.
  10. Has anyone experimented with beet root juice? Apparently the nitrates in it can help with endurance efforts. Usually taken before an event and 'dosing' during the days leading up to it. Obviously it's no silver bullet, but if it helps even marginally, could be interesting. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28067808
  11. Ouch! That Maurten stuff ain't cheap. I'd like to keep it simple for an upcoming marathon, something like a date and nut bar, but chewing and running might be an issue.
  12. This tag in-tag out timing set-up seems a bit backwards, no? From the handful of enduro's I've done here in Euroland, timing is done using the same fork timing 'chips' that you commonly see in the marathon races in SA. So, you typically have a countdown and get a short run-up to get up to speed and then cross the timing mat. Same at the end of the stage. No need to slow down or worry about not getting tagged out. Is there a specific reason why this system is used?
  13. All signs point to hunters. Hunters were found in the protected area, but not with her though. She’s been missing since May. If it was a boar or other ‘natural’ occurrence, she would’ve been found. “Wolvin Naya is 'kwaadwillig omgebracht' Inmiddels stelt de Cel Natuurinspectie van het Vlaamse Agentschap Natuur en Bos dat de wolvin kwaadwillig is omgebracht. Ze concludeert dat personen opzettelijk het nestelgebied van de wolvin zijn binnengedrongen om daar gericht en opzettelijk de wolvin met haar welpen in het nest te gaan zoeken en ze daar te doden. In het gebied zijn mensen aangehouden die verboden handelingen uitvoerden. Zo is een ingerichte onreglementaire voerplaats voor wilde zwijnen gevonden, waarlangs een uit staaldraad vervaardigde strop opgesteld hing. Ook werd een rondrijdende jeep opgemerkt binnen een ontoegankelijke zone met daarin twee jagers die elk een geladen en schietklaar jachtgeweer binnen handbereik naast zich hadden. De Zoogdiervereniging hoopt dat de berichtgeving over wolvin ‘Naya’ en haar welpen voorbarig is, maar houdt terdege rekening met het feit dat deze wolven daadwerkelijk zijn gestroopt. Daarmee zou de eerste succesvolle voortplanting van wolven in België na decennia van afwezigheid wegens een misdrijf zijn mislukt. Gezien de groei van de wolvenpopulatie in Duitsland, Frankrijk en natuurlijk ook Nederland, is het slechts een kwestie van tijd totdat een nieuwe wolvin zich vestigt bij onze zuideburen” https://www.naturetoday.com/intl/nl/nature-reports/message/?msg=25533
  14. Vitus Mythique - cheap and cheerful trail bike. Funny story - the name sounds like an Afrikaans person with a lisp saying 'musiek'.
  15. Luckilly there are smart people who have pondered these questions for us. Like the IPCC and so many others have found, a plant-based diet will have a net reduction in arable land usage, CO2, fertilizers (wonder what gets sprayed on the grass grown for livestock?), etc. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-46590-1?fbclid=IwAR0Z7hhGSpZ8iYDbIcXvzGXhSJDYM5BpwNt_s1IhzJ7yMa4TmLLtbiZeAIo Also take the time to read this, is very interesting: https://science.sciencemag.org/content/360/6392/987 There's obviously no way the whole world will adopt one single diet, but the science is clear: more animal foods = poorer environmental outcomes; more plant foods, = better environmental outcomes. From section 5 of the IPCC report:
  16. So, something from Belgium that has got me frustrated, angry and deeply saddened. A while back Flanders (the province of Limburg to be exact) became home to the first wolf in a long time, Naya. She moved in from West Germany. She was closely followed by the various 'boswachters' and the Nature Agency. Camera traps were set up and she was reported on regularly in the media. Later, a male also moved into the area, August. August and Naya paired up and in the spring Naya became scarce and it was realised that she had pups with August and that during this time he hunted for them and brought food back to the den. The past few weeks there has been concern, as Naya had not been spotted and August had started behaving erratically and no longer brought food back to the den. It was later concluded that hunters had gone into the area and killed Naya and in all likelihood her pups. There's now a €20k reward on offer for information on the hunters. It disgusts and saddens me that such a beautiful and natural occurrence (the return of wolves to the Lowlands) can be undone by a couple of arseholes with guns. How does this relate to veganism? Again, it's about the mindset that non-human animals are ours to exploit, whether for food, sport, entertainment, experimentation. We're in an abusive relationship with our fellow earthlings and that needs to end.
  17. Yeah, same one. NSPCA tried their best, but the Dept. wasn’t interested.
  18. In other news, thousands upon thousands of sheep are now being loaded onto that Middle Eastern death trap docked in PE. $ wins out again.
  19. Wow. It’s almost been a year. I know, Patch. If I could go back and rewrite post #1 I’d maybe formulate it a bit different, but it was a bit of a catch-all. The reasoning was also that I personally approached a plant-based diet from an environmental perspective. Understanding veganism and adopting that moral position came later. A plant-based diet intersects with health and the environment, but ultimately veganism isn’t about that. I think what has also muddied the waters is that we’ve really only discussed diet and neglected to really drill down into other ways we exploit animals.
  20. Myles. Not too long ago we had a vigorous back-and-forth regarding nutritional research, study design, bias, etc. I hope that you apply that same circumspection (my word of the day) you advocated for to this study.
  21. You be CEO and I’ll do the heavy lifting as COO.
  22. I’m happy to discuss the study. However, whether red and processed meat is carcinogenic does not relate to veganism.
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